On Thursday night, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt took home plenty of hardware. In addition to being named AP Defensive Player of the Year, Watt also won the Deason Jones Award. This award is given to the player who leads the league in sacks.
In just 15 games last season, Watt rang up 22.5 sacks. This was good enough to tie the single-season record held by Michael Strahan.
Watt missed two full games with injuries in 2021 and a good chunk of two more. Nevertheless, Watt made the most of his opportunities. In addition to leading the league in sacks for the second-straight season, Watt also led the NFL in tackles for loss with 21 and also chipped in 39 total quarterback hits.
Watt currently has 72.5 career sacks. Linebacker James Harrison is the Steelers career leader with 80.5. This means if things go according to plan, around midseason of 2022, Watt will become the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks in only his sixth season in the NFL.
2021’S @NFL SACK KING 👑
Congratulations to @_TJWatt for winning the Deacon Jones Award, presented to the player who led the NFL in sacks.#NFLHonors | 📝: https://t.co/y6ndl3fG17 pic.twitter.com/ycjYUXD84f
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 11, 2022
